


Meant To Be

by PhantomsVixen008



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Minor Angst, mention of gunshot wound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 21:26:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14627349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomsVixen008/pseuds/PhantomsVixen008
Summary: Some people you can't trust. Other people you can always trust, in a way. Either way, the heart always knows where it's meant to be.This is a bit of angsty fluff. Oswald saves Ed's life.





	Meant To Be

The explosions going off around the city seemed to draw closer. This one shaking the parking garage under Ed's feet. Gotham wasn't new to chaos, but this was different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was a finality to this. Something that scared him on a primal level. He looked up as he saw Lee rounding one of the parked car's, her heels causing her to skid and almost fall. 

"We've got to go!" she called out, making a beeline for him. "They caught me, and now their coming after me." 

Reaching for her hand, Ed pulled her into a run, but not before the thugs came running around the corner. 

"Stop right there, Riddler. Hand over the Doc, and we won't torture you. We'll kill you quickly. One bullet, right between the eyes. The easy way out," the gangster grinned, showing off his row of shiny gold teeth. 

Pushing Lee behind him, he shook his head. "Over my dead body," he spat, tipping his bowler hat. "I'm not going to hand her over." 

"Fine then." Before Ed could even react, the gun was pointed and fired at him. The bullet hit in him the shoulder, the second hitting him in the chest. He quickly fell to the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head. As he lost consciousness he heard the click of Lee's heels on the concrete as she ran, and an all too familiar voice, but he couldn't quite make out the words over the sound of the barrage of bullets that soon followed. 

 

Ed was unsure of how long he had been out. As his eyes fluttered open, his surroundings were unfamiliar, the curtains drawn tightly against the outside world. The room was dark, but not in an unwelcome way. A thick blanket covered his torso. He felt so incredibly weak, and it hurt to even take a deep breath. 

"Well, look who finally decided to re-join the land of the living." 

Ed startled slightly at the voice, watching as the dark shadow that had been sitting in the corner began to take shape. In a moment, Oswald stood by his bedside, a soft look on his face. 

"Are you done being a human shield for Leslie?" he asked softly, lowering himself to sit on the edge of the bed. 

Ed swallowed hard, a burning ache in his chest. "Why am I here?" 

"Because I wasn't going to let you die on the floor of a grungy parking garage, especially for someone who ran off and didn't even look back to see if you were alive or not." 

"She .. she didn't even stop to see if I was .. " he trailed off. 

"Sadly no. Luckily Butch and I were not far behind. We came back here to my safe house. Luckily I have a lot of experience with bullet wounds." The words held just the slightest trace of venom, but it quickly vanished. 

"I honestly don't understand why you would save me." 

"Oh Ed," he sighed. "The smartest man in Gotham, huh?" he shook his head. "Unlike the good doctor, my intentions regarding you have always been quite evident. Well, apparently to everyone but you." 

Oswald moved to check Ed's bandages, making sure they weren't in need of being changed just yet, his fingers gentle along his shoulder and over the chest wound. "You got lucky. The thugs weren't a great shot even at such close range. Both wounds were through and through without harming any organs." 

Weakly Ed raised his hand, placing it on top of Oswald's. "I .. I still don't understand. You shouldn't have saved me. Lee left me bleeding on the pavement." 

"I'm not Lee. I actually have genuine feelings for you. With no plans to use you to just rob banks to feed the habits of junkies in the Narrows." 

"Even after everything that I've done? That .. that makes no sense, Oswald." 

"I never said it made any sense," he shrugged. "It's just how it is. You were my first love. Which means you'll always be special to me. And you didn't deserve to bleed to death on the dirty concrete." 

Ed gently squeezed the hand that still rested against his chest. "Thank you. I owe you my life." 

"Friends don't owe friends, silly. I'd like to believe that you would have done the same, but perhaps that is incredibly naive of me." 

Brown eyes closed, Ed going stone silent for a moment. His mind whirled as he thought of all that had happened between them. All that they had done to each other. Neither of them were innocent of course. And now he could understand Oswald's motivation in killing Isabella. He opened his eyes, looking into the other man's green. "Are .. are we just friends?" 

The question and the tone with which it was asked left Oswald nearly speechless for a moment. "I truly have no idea how to answer that question, Ed," he replied softly. Taking a deep breath, he patted Ed's hand standing up. "We can have this conversation at another time. Right now you need to rest." Hobbling to the nightstand, he picked up a pill bottle, shaking two heavy duty pain killers into his hand. "Here, take these. They'll help." He handed the medication over, along with a glass of water. "You stay in bed, I'll be in the kitchen making dinner." 

In truth the question had rattled Oswald and he just needed to get out of the room. He couldn't breathe or think with those impossibly dark brown eyes on him. Once he was out of the room he felt like he could relax. He cursed himself quietly for bringing Ed back to his safe house. His last safe house. But he really wouldn't have been able to leave him in that parking garage. Not like Lee had. He knew there was a scowl on his face as he thought about the woman he had once respected. He'd done all he could to get her and Jim out of town. To make sure they had a life together and could raise their child. But Jim had fouled that up. He supposed that was why Lee was acting out now. At least that's all he could figure. The tenuous bond between them was gone now. He had no use for a coward who would leave Ed behind like she had. If he saw her, he would put a bullet right between her eyes. 

Oswald moved to pull pots and pans out of the cupboard. He was a good cook, but he found himself reminiscing about Ed's cooking. He truly could have been a gourmet chef. His perfectionist tendencies carried over into his meal preparation as it did every other aspect of his life. He chewed at his bottom lip as he thought about Ed's question. Were they just friends? Had they ever been "just" friends? He wasn't sure. He knew what he had always wanted from Ed, but clearly that wasn't what the other man had wanted. He felt completely foolish all over again as he thought about how wrong he'd been about the signs he had thought he had seen in Ed. It frustrated him to no end that he still couldn't figure it all out. 

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the almost hesitant footsteps approaching him from behind. Oswald nearly jumped a foot in the air as he felt two strong hands on his hips. Feeling his heart hammering against his ribs at the closeness of the other man, he closed his eyes trying to steady himself. 

"You're supposed to be in bed. If you pass out from those pills I can't pick you up," he knew his voice sounded strained, and he hated how his pulse always raced, even now, when Ed was this close. 

"I'm not going to pass out," he answered. 

"You were just shot twice at point blank range. You should be lying down. Hell, I don't even know how you're standing up right now." 

"Sheer determination," he replied. 

Oswald could hear the smirk in his words and it made him smile. He had missed him so much. Had missed this. He turned away from the stove to face the taller man. He tilted his chin up so he could look him in the eyes. "I .. I don't think we were ever just friends," he managed to address that question that stung in his brain. "We .. we've always been so much more than that. Don't you think?" 

Ed didn't answer, instead he just studied the beautiful features of the man in front of him, taking in the color of his eyes, the freckles that were sprinkled along the bridge of his nose and his cheeks. He'd always found him impossibly gorgeous. His father had been right about him. He'd always been attracted to men as well as women. But this went beyond the physical for him. It was so much deeper. Taking a deep breath, he brought one hand up to lay against Oswald's cheek. "You're right. We have always been so much more," he sighed. "And, that scared me. I .. I just wanted normal. The whole house with the white picket fence, two kids, maybe a dog," he chuckled. "But I'm not cut out for that kind of life, am I?" he swallowed hard. 

"Don't you think that kind of life would be impossibly boring?" he responded, leaning into the gentle touch. 

His thumb gently rubbed against his cheek as he stared down into Oswald's eyes. The color always reminded him of the ocean just before a storm rolled in. "Yeah, I do think it would be boring. And I get into trouble when I'm bored." 

"You could get into trouble just sitting on the sofa in the den," he teased. 

He couldn't help but laugh, nodding in agreement. "You're absolutely right." 

"Ed, do you believe in soulmates?" he asked, growing serious for a moment. 

"I .. I never have before. But, I think now I do," he replied. 

"I think I do as well," he agreed. "And I'm looking at mine." The sincerity in Oswald's eyes hit him like a punch to the gut. 

"Me too," Ed whispered, bringing his other hand to rest against his cheek so he could cradle his face. "Life keeps throwing us into each other's paths for a reason. We're meant to be together." 

Oswald nodded, tears swimming in his eyes. 

Without another moment of hesitation, the taller man leaned in, pressing his lips to his partner's. The kiss was gentle and unsure at first, until finally Oswald responded, returning the kiss, his arms wrapping around Ed's torso. He clung to his shirt, his knuckles turning white with the intensity of his hold. 

Ed reluctantly pulled back after a long moment, his forehead pressed against Oswald's. "I love you. I should have told you that ages ago. But, now I'll tell you every single day. I swear it." 

Tears rolled down the smaller man's cheeks, but there was a look of sheer joy on his face. "I .. I've waited so long to hear you say those words. And they sound beautiful," he smiled, sniffling. "I love you too, Ed. I always will," he whispered, leaning in to kiss him again.


End file.
